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Wondering about E Coli in Breastmilk?

I was just told I had e coli in my breastmilk! I have been feeding my baby this for MONTHS!!!! I called his ped. but I haven't heard back yet if I should be concerned. I thought breastmilk wasn't supposed to get this? Anybody have any links on anything about e coli and breastmilk? Thanks!
~Sarah~

Re: Wondering about E Coli in Breastmilk?

How did you find out that you had E. coli in your milk? I was under the impression that breast milk doesn't have bacteria in it. It could grow bacteria once it is expressed. E. coli is usually found in the intestines.

Re: Wondering about E Coli in Breastmilk?

I found out because I had "thrush" for 3 1/2 months. My LC couldn't help anymore, so I went back to the doc to ask about it. They also tried more meds that didn't work. I demanded a milk culture, and finally got this back. Makes me mad that we could have found out sooner. I have not shown any signs of it other then the thrush-like symptoms. Caleb has had softer stools, but I thought it was normal, as he is breastfed. He has also had numerous colds, and has been coughing a lot. I don't know if that is just the time of year it is though. They also thought he had reflux from the beginning. He doesn't spit up as much as most babies do, but he has been doing it more just recently, but again, I thought it could just be the cold. Now I am starting to wonder.....

Re: Wondering about E Coli in Breastmilk?

I want to help you find more information. First, could you please tell us if you are positive that the result was E coli? Staph is a somewhat common cause of breast infection. Is it possible that you are thinking of staph?

Re: Wondering about E Coli in Breastmilk?

Don't freak out- most strains of E.coli are harmless. Only a few are pathogenic. The pathogenic strains can cause illness, including gastroenteritis, UTIs, neonatal meningitis, and more rarely pneumonia and mastitis. But the harmless strains of E.coli are a normal part of human intestinal flora from birth onwards, and have beneficial effects such as preventing the establishment of pathogenic bacteria in the intestine, and synthesizing vitamin K. E.coli is usually found in the intestine, but it is not necessarily confined to it.

If you are concerned about E.coli in your milk, I think it is very important to find out what strain you are carrying. Is it a normal strain, or is it a pathogenic strain? If it is pathogenic, and you need to treat yourself with antibiotics, knowing exactly what strain of bacteria you have will allow you to choose the correct antibiotic.

Soft stools are normal for a breastfed baby. And colds... Well, it is the season for them! So long as you and your baby don't seem horribly ill- feverish, severe diarrhea, vomiting, any sort of weird discharge- you might just be dealing with a totally normal strain of E. coli which isn't dangerous to either of you. Or you could be scared over nothing at all other than lab error or sample contamination. I would definitely ask for more testing before choosing any route of treatment.